Birdmania: Author Talk and Book Signing

There is no denying that many people are crazy for birds. Packed with intriguing facts and exquisite and rare artwork, Birdmania showcases an eclectic and fascinating selection of bird devotees who would do anything for their feathered friends.

In addition to well-known enthusiasts such as Aristotle, Charles Darwin, and Helen Macdonald, Brunner introduces readers to Karl Russ, the pioneer of bird rooms, who had difficulty renting lodgings when landlords realized who he was; George Lupton, a wealthy Yorkshire lawyer, who commissioned the theft of uniquely patterned eggs every year for twenty years from the same unfortunate female guillemot who never had a chance to raise a chick; George Archibald, who performed mating dances for an endangered whooping crane called Tex to encourage her to lay; and Mervyn Shorthouse, who posed as a wheelchair-bound invalid to steal an estimated ten thousand eggs from the Natural History Museum at Tring.

PRAISE FOR BIRDMANIA
"An exquisitely beautiful book ...These stories about birds are ultimately reflections on the curious nature of humanity itself"
Helen Macdonald, author of "H is for Hawk"

"In his lively tour de bird obsessive, Bernd Brunner captures the antics and agonies of the human longing to connect with our feathered brethren, encounters that usually reveal even more about ourselves than the bird in hand."
Florence Williams, author of "The Nature Fix"

"A delightful exploration into the enduring allure of one of nature's most charismatic creatures."
Mark V. Barrow, Jr., author of "A Passion for Birds" and "Nature's Ghosts"

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bernd Brunner is an award-winning writer whose books have been translated into a variety of languages. His work has been published in Lapham's Quarterly, the Paris Review, the Wall Street Journal Speakeasy, and the Huffington Post, and he has lectured at New York's Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts and Culture, the Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley, and the Goethe Institute in San Francisco.

Registration recommended: Free with Garden admission; books available for purchase